Clothes drier



Oct. 30, 1928. v 1,689,345

c. w. KELLMAN jwe/U/ofr 62m M( Afa/mw Oct. 30, 1928.

4cs. w. KELLMAN CLOTHES-- mmm Filed ocz.1, 1925 4 Sheds-Sheet 2 w lmllllil l lum Sheets-Sheet 3 c. w. KELLMAN CLoTEs hifi-:R F11-ed oct. 1o, 1925.

Oct. 30, 1928.

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C. W. KELLMAN CLOTHES DRIER Oct. 30. 1928.

4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed oet; 1o, 1925 @A0A/W funk/v Patentedoct. 30, 1928.

uNrnezoA STATES PATENT OFFICE.

can. w. or' cmcaeo, nLmoIa appliques alsa ombel- 10, niais.A serrano. 61,357.

My invention reims to clothes fiers ma has for its object the provision of an improved apparatus of this type embodying a the air is'drawn upwardly from the heating 1t chamber or coilsinto the rotatin tumbler, 'and in this way the clothes are ept in a loose fluiy condition as compared to the condition of the clothes when dried bythe Y prior art machines, By the prior methods, the clothes are packed 1n the bottom of the compartments as'the result'of.A the air being drawn downwardly.

An important object of my invention is in the revision of a construction which is 25 simp e and eilicient, the velocity of the air suction throughout the entire len h of the tumbler being maintained su stantially equal, whereby the clothes may be dried evenly and in a minimum of time. For instance, the structure in its preferred form Amay comprise an exhaust opening cooperatl ing with a fan or other means for exhausting the heated air, with a hood or the like intersed, this hood beingso'constructed and l designed as to cooperate with the exhaust opening to equalize the air velocity the entire length of the tumbler. More specilically the hood is tapered to provide a greater volume at the end of the machine Where the 40 velocity would tend to be the greatest, andto provide a smaller volume where the velocit?v would tend-to be the leastl .The amount -o the taper is such that it will, when cooperating with a novelly formed .openin be the greatest and is gradually enlargedv to a point at the end of the hood thatis the narrowest andgn'here the velocity of ein without'this opening and this hood would tend to be the least.

Another object of my invention resides in the provision and ari-an ement o a structurehaving a plurality or openings therein which are adapted to be controlled. by a number of dempers, doors or gates to efect a reversal of the dow of air throu h the apparatus, whereby it will be ossi le to cool the clothes before removing from the tumbler. It will be remembered that the use of such dempers, doors or gates allows the` direction of the iiow ofair to be quickly changed without changing the rotation of y lthe fan. Gold air may be admitted .into the clothers drier and drawn through the tumbler before being passed through the heat coils, and as the llow of air during the cooling step is in the oppositeJ direction, the heating coils do not hinder the operation, inasmuch as the cold air carries away the heat radiated thereby. A novel arrange ment of air pipes connecting to the fan may be provided soA as to cooperate with the aforesaid dempers in reversing the How of air, and thereby bring into the tumbler unheated lair before this airreaches the heating zone. AA further object of the invention is in the use of a sterilizer at the inlet opening whereby the air used for drying the clothes will be thoroughly. cleansed or sterilized before reaching the tumbler.

A further object of my invention comprises the employment of a. tumbler novel construeted to provide a maximum num r yof ,compartmentsfor individual family washings. pper and lower divisions are made by means ofa diametrically disposed reticulate screen Whichmay be removably carried so as to provide access to the lower division when the cover is open.

The invention further consists in certain novel features of construction and arrangement of parts which will be readily-understood 'hy reference to the description of the vdrawings and the claims hereinafter given.

In the drawings:.

vFigure 1 is an endv elevation, withportions omitted, of a,drier embodying the features of theV present invention, this view illustrating mainl the arrangementV of the levers for contro 'ngthe aforesaid dempers;

Fig.' 2 is a side elevation 'of the machine;

fvFig. 3 is an elevation of the opposite side of the machine, illustrating the position which the dampers assume during the process currents are reversed to cool the clothes in the tumbler;

F 1g. 5 is a transverse sectlonal view through the machine;

Fig, 6 is a horizontal section of the hood looking downwardly at the opening, the section lbeing taken on line 6-6 of Fig. 5; and

Fig. 7 is a sectional detail view of a damper at the lower end of the machine comprising part of the mechanism employed to reverse the flow of air through the tumbler.

In the drawings, I have illustrated a preferred form of my invention The machine shown comprises a suitable casing 2 preferably cylindrical, the cylindrical wall of which is provided with a door 3 connected to the body portion of said casing by means of hinges 4, said door being provided with a plurality of handles 5 by which it may be lopened when it is desired to gain access to the interior of the casing. A suitable.

frame may be provided to support casing Base channel irons 7 are provided to carry the vertical uprights 8 by means ot which the casing 2 may be suitably supported. It is obvious that the exact details of the supporting structure shown herein need not be necessarily adhered to when it is desired to embody my invention in a clothes drier. These details may be varied accordingto thedesign desired. Each end of the casing 2v is provided with suitable bearings adapted to receive the trunnions 10 carried by the end plates of the rotary cylinder 12. Rotary cylinder 12 is adapted to be revolved about the axis of saidtrun nions 1() within the casing 2. The end plates v arev connected together by a plurality of angle members forming blades 13, thesemembers extending from one end plate to the other at the peripheriesv thereof.

Interposed between the end plates are a plurality of partitions 14 dividing the cylinder into a plurality of compartments, each adapted' to receive the wash of a separate family or individual so that' the various washingsiwill not be mixed [during the process-of drying. The -entirercylinder 4is enclosed by means of a' perforated jacket 15,

terial, or if so desired this door may be made of wood or metal masmuch'as 1t covers a small portion of the compartments and 'v would not interfere with the circulation o air through cylinder 12. It will be apparent that door 16 provides convenient access to the compartments of this cylinder. One

of the features of this invention resides in diainetrically within the cylinder. The

novelty of providing such partitions resides in the fact that these partitions may also be made of screen-like material', which allows the air to freel pass from one compertinent into the ot er during rotation of the cylinder or tumbler, and also in the fact that when door 16 is open these partitions 20 may be quickly removed to permit access to the lower compartments. When the tum bier is at rest, partitions 2O form the :Hoor of the upper compartments and as soon as the clothes are removed from these upper compartments, the partitions may be removed to allow the clothes in the lower compartments to be removed. Normally the partitions 2O are held in position by the door 16 in its closed position.

Below the container 12, I provide a series of heating coils or pipes 22 carried by opposite sides 23 which may be supported within the casing 2 in any suitable manner. Heating pipes 22 are led through one of the end walls of casing 2, as shown in Figure 1, to any suitable source of heat. I prefer to partially enclose heating pipes 22 by means of va wall 24, as shown in Figure 5, so as to .cause the air currents entering inlet opening 25 to descend to the lower portion of casing` 2. Frein there, these currents will move' upwardly coming into contact with the heating` coils 22 where the air will be heated before circulating through container 12. A sterilizer or sterilizing screen 26 may be inserted in opening 25 to purify the air before entering casing 2.

I have not illustrated in detail the powerl mechanism employed to rotate the cylinder 12. It will be understood, of course, that, as the cylinder rotates on trunnions 10, the airis drawn u wardly through the screenlike periphery "o container 12 into the compartments thereon/"so as to come in direct contact with the clothes therein for eiiiciently drying'the same and leaving them in a loose fluffy condition. Blades 13 function to gently litt the clothes to the top of each compartment as cylinder 12 rotates, As the clothes return to the bottom of the compartmentby gravity they are met by the warm through cylinder 12. Pipes 31 andl 32 are casing 2, the pipe 31 extending upwardly provided with dampers between fan Vand to the upper part of this casing and communicating with aV hood 33. Pipe 32 leads downwardly tothe lower end of casing 2 and communicates therewith by means of ing coils in an opening 34in this casing. Opening 34 is normally closed by means of' a damper 35,`-

while the pipe 31 remains in communication with the interior of the casing 2. The heated air exhausted from the casing 2 is drawn through pipe 31 and passed upwardly through a discharge pipe 36. The air enters casing 2 thro Uh the sterilizer 26 located in opening 25 an travels downwardly as indicated by arrows in Figs. 3 and 5V through a passage 37. When at thelower end of passage 37, the air is circulated upwardly about the heating coils 22. lt will be remembered that l prefer to locate these heatclose proximity to the cylinder 12 and preferably at 'the bottom thereof so that the cloth-es in Vthe cylinder get the direct effect of heat radiation from these coils in addition to the heating of the clothes by means of the suction caused by the fan drawing the heated air through the cylinder.

The machine is designed so as to get substantially thel 4saine velocity of air suction throughoutie entire length of the cylinder. This is accomplished by the use of a peculiarly shaped, opening at the .upper end of g casing 2 and a concially shaped hood 33 which is placed over this opening, and

through Ywhich the air is drawn when eir-V hausted rom the casing. It will be noted in Figs. 5 and 6/ that Athis conical hood is tapered so as to give aY greater volume at the end of the machine where the velocity of the air would tend to be the greatest and the smallest volume at the end 'of the machine where the velocity ofthe air would tend to be the least. The' amount of taper is so arranged that it will, together with an open- 2 toI close oil' pipe 31. lf itis desired to vcoo ing 40, canse the velocity of the air to be equal throughout the length o' cylinder 12.

Opening 40, which is used to assist the coinl in ical hood in obtaining this uniform velocity is designed so as to have its'smallest dimension at the end of the machine .where the velocity would tend to be the greatest and where the volume of the heat is greatest, and` is graduali enlarged to a point at the opposite end oy the hood'which is 'the narrowest and where the velocity l. ,oi the air, without this openin and without this hood, would tend to be t e least. In other words, it will be apparent that the tapered opening and the conical hood serve of air throughout the entire length of the to give an equal suction cylinder. I consider this of considerable importance because it permits more even and rapid. drying as well as accomplishing the drying in a minimum of time.

My machine is designed, as heretofore stated, to cool .the clothes after' they are dried. This is accomplished by reversal of that are normally closed during the process of drying,.thereby causing a reversal of the llow of air. By referring to-Figures 1, 3, 4. and 5 it will be observed that these dampers are -so connected that by operation of a single lever i1 the entire set of dampers dll are manipulated to cause this reversal of the flow of air. Lever ll1 is pivoted intermediate its ends at 42 to the frame of thev machine, while the opposite end is connected Y by a series'o links 43 to damper 35 at the lower end of casing 2. It will be noted in 4 i Figure *J that links 4.3 inclnde a pivotally mounted bai' fflcnteringthe casing 2 at the point l5 and at the opposite end connecting by means Vof a link 46 Damper 35 may be pivotally connected on the inside of casing 2 so that it will be adapted to swing to its closed position over opening 34 when the damper is released by lever v41. As will he noted in detail in Figure .1, the lever 41 is tted with a vertical connection 47, which extendsv upwardly tov connect withv a second series oi links 48,

to damper 35.

these latter links serving to manipulate a damper` 50. At the point of connection oetween hood 33 and pipe 31 a casing 51 is interposed :for carrying damper 50. Casing 51 may be provided with an opening 52, which, during the process 'of drying isf closed by damp@ 50= The series of links 4:8v ,I

are arranged pivotally to swing damper 50 over saidfopenin 52, oi` are adapted to swing "deisdamper"o@ ackwardly intothe casingv y the clothes by drawing the air through open 52 'and downwardly through lthe inachine theinlet opening 25 should closed. This is accomplished hy means of a damper 5v5' connected tof a lever 56 which is carried at one end by means oi a. bell crank lever 57.

Bell crank lever''' extends through the side of casing 2 and connects with a strap 58 forming part of the @ries of levers 43. f 1 The operation of the machine is as folows:

The door 3 4of the casing 2 isopen,and"v then by opening the door 16 laccess ob# tained to the various compartments ofthe rotary cylinder 12. Access to the lower compartments is obtained by removing the partitions 20. Various washings are separated and each dili'erent washing' is inserted in the lower compartments. The partitions are then replaced and additionalv washings v through proper placed in the upper compartments. ..Hence, it will be observed that the ca acity of the present machine has been doub ed by means of these partitions 20 without sacrificing the efiiciency of 'Y the machine because these partitions are perforated to permitl the air to continue through the cylinder from the lower compartment to the upper compartment. When door 16 is closed, partitions 20 are held in proper position. Power is applied driving mechanism' (not shown) to rotate the cylinder 12 about the axis of the trunnions 10. As the cylinder 12 revolves about its axis, extending blades 13 will engage with the clothes and lift them to the uppe part of the cylinder where they are permitted to drop by gravity into the lower part atthe the variousv inwardly same timey that rotary motion is imparted to the drier cylinder 12. The heated air is circulated` upwardly through the perforated periphery of the cylinder so as to act upon the clothes within the various compartments. It will be noted that the clothes when dropping by gravity to the lower part of each compartment will be carried upwardly a ain by the heated air, and, as a consequence, t ese clothes are maintained in a loose, condition as compared to a compact mass which resulted heretofore when the heated air was brought downwardly throu h" the machine. As soon as the clothes in the various compartments have become thorthe lever 41 is operated to` reverse the tlow of air through the machine.' inwardly to,

oughly dry,

The damper 50 will be swun close the pipe 31 and to open t e opening 52. The opening 34 is opened simultaneously by the damper 35 swinging to its u r posi-v tion, as shown in dotted lines in igoure 4. The damper 55 also swings downwardly to its dotted line position, as shown in Figure 5. With the dampers in these positions the cold air is brought inwardly from the outside of the machine and drawn through the rotary drier cylinder 12 The circulation of the air during cooling has been shown by the arrows in Fi re 4. The air passes through the drier cylinder. 12and moves past the heating pipes 22 to carry away the heat, which normally would tend to-rise and heat'the'clothes in the cylinder. This air then asses through the opening 31vand outwardly u through thefex'haust pipe 36. `The novel ocation of the heating pipes 22V makes it possible immediately to because, in it Hufty y by means of fan 30.

lthrough, said-container to dry the first contacts with the clothes in the cylinder and then passes through the heating zone to carry away the heat radiated by the pipes 22. After the clothes have been thoroughly cooled, the machine is shut down to permit the cove-r 3 to be opened and then the cover 16 on the cylinder 12. It will be found that the clothes will be in a loose fluffy condition in the upper compartments. lWhen these upper compartments are empty, the partitions 20 are removed and access is then had to the lower compartments. In these lower compartments the clothes will also be in a loose, iuHy condition. Due to the equal yelocity of the How of air through the entire length of the cylinder during the process of drying, as well as during the cooling, I find that it takes-less time for a single run in a machine embodying my invention than in other types of machines. Ofcourse, this result is also due to other factors, such as the novel location of the heating pipes, the proper ratio of the velocity of air in the machine to the volume of the machine, etc.

It is believed that Ifrom the foregoing operation many other advantages of the invention will bev apparent without any further description.

i I claim: v

1. A clothes'drier comprising in combination a casing having a plurality of openings therein, av clothes container in said casing,y

means for establishin'v air currents in a definite direction for dr ing the clothes in said container, means for first heating said air currents, and damper mechanism cooperating with said openings for vchanging the direction of "said air currents whereby cold air is admitted into said casing to cool .the clothes and to carry heat from said heating means away fromsaid clothes.

2. A clothes drier comprising in combination, a casing having a plurality of openings therein, a clothes. container in said casing, means for establishing air currents in a definite direction for drying clothes in saidcontainer, means for heating said' air currents, dampers for each of .said openings, and

means for connecting said dampers wherebyl they cri-jointly operate to open certain of said openings and to close the other openings, to reverse the direction of said air currents'for cooling the clothes and for carrying heat from said heating means away from said clothes. v

3. A'clothes drier comprising in combination,' a'casing havino' a plurality of openingsiherein, each o? which is fated with damper means oo-jointly acting to close certain of said openingswhile others are open, a,clothes container. in said casing, heating means for heating the air before passing l clothes therein, -means for drawing the. air through said casing, and means connecting certain the heated air.

-' and a third ope l. means for reversing the ilowof air w ereb container, means for circulating the heated air through said container, and means operableto\ open said .normally closed o ening and to simultaneously intercept the ow of heated air whereby to reverse the flow offair through said casing for cooling the clothes after drying.

5. A clothesY drier comprising in *com-` bination a casing having openings therein,- a clothes container in said casing, a pipe connecting to one of said openin s, means communicating with said pipe or establishing heated air currents for drying "clothes in said container, a Vdamper associated with said pipe, said damper normally closing an opening in said pipe which affords communication with the atmosphere, and means for actuating said damper whereby to open said opening and to close said pipe in order to admit cold air into said casing for cooling the clothes before removing from said container. t

S. A clothes drier comprising in combination a casing having a plurality of openings ther-simone of which serves to admit air into the casing and another oi which serves -toexhanst the air therefronn'a clothes con- Atemer in said'` casing, heating pipes for heating the air, air pipes connecting to two of said openings, and damper means associated with said pipes for reversing the How of air' through said casing whereby the clothes in said container are cooled after being dried by 7; A clothes drier coni rising in combination a casing having a p urality of openings therein, one of which serves to admit air into said casing and another of which serves to exhaust the heated'air, a clothes container mounted in said casing, means for drawing air through saidcasing, means for heating theair before passing through said container, a pipe between said air exhaustin means and said second opening, a seconr pipe in communication with said first pipe g` in said casing;` and f'to admit the'air into said container for c oo ,ing the clothes' baforezbeing heated. by said Vheating means;

8,. A clothes drier comprising in combination, a casing, a rotatably mounted cylinder having a` lscreen-like periphery 'throughwhich hot and cold air may pass, means for ,drawing i air into said casing. through an opening therein, and exhausting .the air therefrom through a second opening therein, heatingpipes in close proximity to said first opening, a p ipe between said: means and said second opening, a second ipe communicating with said first pipe an vsaid means, said second pipe connecting to athird opening in saidcasing, and damper means for controlling the movementpof air through said openings and saidpipes whereby to reverse the flow for admitting air into said casing to cool' the contents of said cylinder.

9. A clothes drier comprising in combination a casing, a rotatably mounted cylinder having a screen-like periphery, heating pipes disposedvin said casing for heating the air moving through the casing and cylinder, said casing being rovided with an o ening therein through w ich air may be aitted into said casin means for circulatin the air through 'said casing and said cylinder, alrlid means for reversing the circulation of t e air. Y

10. A clothes drier com rising a casing having an opening in its wa a hood secured.

to said Wall and communicating withsaid opening, arotatahle cylinder drier mounted Within said casing, and means for drawing air into said casing and through said opening into said hood, said hood and said opening bein oppositely tapered, the `taper of said hoo being the smallest and the taper of said opening being the greatest at the farthest point from said means whereby to equalize the velocity the length, of said cylinder drier,

means for providing a plurality of vertical compartments in said cylinder, and a removable wall extending substantially diametrically through said cylinder for increasing the number of said compartments.

clothes drier comprising a casing,4 and a cylinder mounted to rotate therein,

o the airv flow throughoutl l2. A clothes drier comprising a-casing', a

cylinder mounted to rotate therein, means for providing a pluralityof compartments therein, a door for providing access to said compartments and partitional means dividing said compartments into additional compertinents, said partitional means being removably carried to permit access the yadditional compartmentsjhus formed.

413. A clothes drier comprising a casing, a cylinder mounted to rotate therein, vertical l partitions located in spaced relation throu hout the length of said cylinder, remove le partitions carried oy said vertical partitions and located substantially diametrically fin Isaid cylinder' to increase the number of compartments formed therein; and a swinging door for said casing arranged `to close over said removable partitions to prevent their displacement except when said door is open. 14. A clothes drier comprising a casing, a cylinder mounted to rotate thereln, a screenlilze periphery for said cylinder, vertically spaced partitions located lengthwise in said cylinder, guide plates disposed on said partitions, and screen-like members slidably carried by said guide plates to divide the space .between said vertically spaced partitions into upper and lower compartments.

15., A clothes drier comprising a casing, a cylinder mounted to rotate therein, a screenlike periphery for said cylinder, vertically spaced partitions located lengthwise in said cylinder, a plurality of screen-like members carried in slidablerelation by said vertically spaced partitions and dividing the space.

therebetween into upper and lower compartments, and a cover for said cylinder, said cover being arranged when in closed position to engage on edge of said screen-like members and to disengage lsaid edge when in open position to permit removal of said screenlike members and a consequent access to said lower compartments.,

16. A clothes drier having in combination a casing, a rotatably mounted cylinder provided with a screen-like periphery, heating coils disposed Within said caslng in the pat of air currents moving through said casing and said cylinder, means for driving air into said casing through an opening therein, air pipes connecting to the upper and lower parts of said casing andl said means, and damper means for reversing the movement of said air through said casing to cool said clothes and to carry heat from said heating coils away from said clothes.

In witness whereof, I have hereuntoV subscribed my name.

CARL W. KELLMAN. 

